December 2022
A Season of Giving

As the end of our calendar year approaches, I want to thank you for having a giving spirit. Whether you give to us, to your place of worship or to another charity, a giving spirit brings joy. Certainly, gifts bring joy to the recipients, but we also know that the act of giving, no matter the amount, brings joy to the giver, as well.

The moral of Aesop's fable The Lion and The Mouse is "no act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted." In the story, the lion traps the mouse but lets him go instead of eating him. Later, the lion finds himself trapped in a net and the mouse gnaws through the net to free the lion. Of course, both the lion and the mouse were happy to receive the gift of life. But I suspect that as time went on, the lion and the mouse also took pleasure in having given that gift. 

Kindness at this time of year comes in many forms. Gifts of money are one way of defining kindness -- that's charity and generosity. But we also see people making an extra effort to provide a holiday meal for those in need, or gifts for children who might otherwise go without. That's benevolence. In the grocery store yesterday I saw several people being kind -- holding a door, even letting someone with two items go in front of them in the checkout lane. In the fable, the kindness shown by the lion and the mouse takes the form of mercy.  As we see our community partners offering music and dance celebrating this season, it's hard not to feel hope. That is joy.

So in this last month of the year, we send our wishes that you receive kindness, charity, benevolence, mercy, hope and joy -- as you give the same to others.

Happiest of holidays,

Jane Alexander
President & CEO
Community Foundation for Mississippi
The Community Foundation for Mississippi thanks all of you for partnering with us this year to make an impact in Mississippi. Without you, this work would not be possible. As you consider your end-of-the-year giving, consider a gift to the Community Foundation for Mississippi.


As the year comes to a close, we would also love to assist you with any of your year-end giving ideas and help make them a reality.

Please contact Theresa Erickson at theresa@formississippi.org or 601-974-6044 if you would like to learn how CFM can assist you with your philanthropic goals.

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The Friends of Andrew Bucci Fund at the Community Foundation for Mississippi was created to honor the memory of the late Andrew Bucci, one of Mississippi’s most celebrated and prolific visual artists. This is the first year for the fund to grant awards, which help Mississippi public, parochial and private school art teachers acquire supplies that support visual arts instruction for grades PreK-12.
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